1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of known substituted 5H-pyrido[2',1':2,3] and 5H-thiazolo[2'3':2,3]imidazo[4,5-b]indoles as cholinomimetic agents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
My prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,143,142, 4,160,840 and 4,204,067, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference, relate to substituted 5H-pyrido- and 5H-thiazolo[2',1':2,3]imidazo[4,5-b]indoles, to pharmaceutical compositions comprising them and to their use as antihypertensive agents in mammals. These compounds and others are employed in the method of this invention as cholinomimetic agents
Cholinomimetic agents, e.g., tetrahydroaminoacridine and physostigmine, have shown considerable promise in delaying and to some extent reversing the deterioration of the mental processes, especially memory loss, associated with hypocholinergic patients in a neurogenic abnormal state, e.g., Alzheimer's disease. See Editorial, New Eng. J. of Med. 315 (20) 1286-7 (Nov. 13, 1986) and references cited therein; Summers et al., ibid., pp. 1241-5. See also Bartus et al., Annals of N.Y. Acad. Sci., 444, 332-358 (1985), which describes a method of measuring cholinergic deficiency in test animals For a review on the subject of the relationship of cholinergic activity of the caudate nucleus to memory, see Prado-Alcala, R.A., Life Sciences, 37, 2135-2142 (1985). See also Weingartner, H., Annals of N.Y. Acad of Sci., 444, 359-369 (1985) and Gamzu, E., ibid., 370-393 (1985).